3/11/2014

NABBP & NAPBBP

NABBP (1857)

• The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American • The first, 1857 convention of sixteen City clubs practically terminated the Knickerbocker era, when that club privately deliberated on the rules of the game • The succeeding National Association of Professional Base Ball Players is considered the first professional sports league; through 1875 it governed professional baseball and practically set playing rules for all

NABBP (1857)

• Beside the playing rules and its own organization, the Association governed official scoring (reporting), "match" play, a championship, amateurism, and the fixing of games • It permitted professionalism only for the 1869 and 1870 seasons • In its December 1867 meeting, its rules committee voted unanimously to bar any club "composed of one or more colored persons", effecting the first known color line in baseball

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NABBP (1857)

• Prior to the Civil War, baseball competed for public interest with and regional variants of baseball, notably played in and the Game played in • In the 1860s, aided by the War, "New York" style baseball expanded into a national game and the NABBP, as its governing body, expanded into a true national organization, although most of the strongest clubs remained those based in , and Philadelphia

NABBP (1857)

• By the end of 1865, almost 100 clubs were members of the organization • By 1867, it had over 400 members, including some clubs from as far away as San Francisco and Louisiana • Because of this growth, regional and state organizations began to assume a more prominent role in the governance of the sport

NABBP (1857)

• The NABBP was initially established upon principles of amateurism • However, even early in its history some star players, such as James Creighton of Excelsior, received compensation, either secretly or indirectly

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NABBP (1857)

• In 1866, the NABBP investigated Athletic of Philadelphia for paying three players including , but ultimately took no action against either the club or the players • To address this growing practice, and to restore integrity to the game, at its December 1868 meeting the NABBP established a professional category for the 1869 season • Clubs desiring to pay players were now free to declare themselves professional

NABBP (1857)

• Cincinnati was the first to so declare and among the most aggressive in recruiting the best available players • Twelve, including most of the strongest clubs in the NABBP, ultimately declared themselves professional for the 1869 season • Conflict arose, however, between amateur and professional interests • Important issues included how the championship was to be decided and regulating players jumping from one team to another

NABBP (1857)

• As a result, in 1871 most of the leading professional clubs broke away to found the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players • The NABBP continued for approximately two years thereafter in a diminished status before disbanding into state and regional organizations

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NABBP Clubs

• • New York Harlem • Brooklyn Bedford • New York Knickerbocker • Brooklyn Continental • • Brooklyn Eckfords • Philadelphia Athletic • Brooklyn Excelsior • Chicago White Stockings • Brooklyn Harmony • Newark Newarks • Brooklyn Nassau • Newark Eurekas • Brooklyn Olympic • Newark Adriatics • Brooklyn Putnam • Newark Americus • Union of Morrisania (Bronx) • Newark Pioneer • New York Baltic • Newark Active • New York Eagle • Newark Excelsior • New York Empire • Newark Amateur • New York Gotham

NAPBBP (1871)

• The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), or simply the National Association (NA), was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season • It succeeded and incorporated several professional clubs from the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP); in turn several of its clubs created the succeeding , which essentially survives as professional baseball

NAPBBP (1871)

• The NA was the first professional baseball league • Its status as a major league is in dispute • and the Baseball Hall of Fame do not recognize it as a major league, but the NA comprised most of the professional clubs and the highest caliber of play then in existence • Its players, managers, and umpires are included among the "major leaguers" who define the scope of many encyclopedias and many databases

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NAPBBP (1871)

• Several factors limited the lifespan of the National Association including • Dominance by a single team () for most of the league's existence • Instability of franchises; several were placed in cities too small to financially support professional baseball • Lack of central authority • Suspicions of the influence of gamblers

NAPBBP Clubs

• Boston Red Stockings have been three distinct clubs, • Chicago White Stockings which would bring the count to 25 • Cleveland Forest Citys members.) • • Baltimore Marylands (played at Fort Wayne Kekiongas Madison Avenue Grounds) • New York Mutuals • Philadelphia White Stockings • Philadelphia Athletics (also sometimes called "Pearls" or • Rockford Forest Citys (A second "Phillies") league club with the same name • Elizabeth Resolutes as the Cleveland entry) • • • Philadelphia Centennials • Washington Olympics • New Haven Elm Citys • Brooklyn Atlantics • St. Louis Brown Stockings • Brooklyn Eckfords • St. Louis Reds ‐ St. Louis Red • Baltimore Canaries Stockings • Middletown Mansfields • Keokuk Westerns • Washington Nationals (twice), Washington Blue Legs (These may

NAPBBP (1871)

• The singular form of a "nickname" was often the team name itself, with its base city "understood" and was so listed in the standings • Example: Rather than "Brooklyn Atlantics", the team was simply called "Atlantic", or "Atlantic of Brooklyn" if deemed necessary by the writer

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NAPBBP (1871)

• Another common practice was to refer to the team in the plural; hence the "Bostons" the "Chicagos"... or the "Mutuals“ • Hence some additional confusion for modern readers

NAPBBP (1871)

• Sometimes the team would have a nickname, usually something to do with the team colors • Examples: Boston Red Stockings, Chicago White Stockings, Mutual Green Stockings • A more recent equivalent to this occurred when the Pacific Coast League had two teams in San Francisco, called "San Francisco" and "Mission“ • The teams were officially the "Seals" and the "Reds" respectively • However, the second team was also often called the "Missions“

NAPBBP (1871)

• The Mission Reds, actually represented a distinct neighborhood in San Francisco called the Mission District • In this way, their name parallels the PCL's Hollywood Stars or the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers, teams that represented a distinct neighborhood or borough of a city that was already represented in the same league with another team (though Brooklyn was an independent city, distinct from New York, at the time the Dodgers formed)

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NAPBBP (1871)

• This practice of using the singular form of the "nickname" as the team name faded with time, although as recently as the early 1900s, the team generally known as "Philadelphia Athletics" was shown in the standings as "Athletic", the traditional way

NAPBBP (1871)

• That team sported an old‐English "A" on its jerseys, as had its nominative predecessors • The Oakland uniforms are a quiet reminder of this tradition

NAPBBP (1871)

• The closest equivalent in modern sports franchises is to assign a name that reflects the region that the team wants to represent • The Rangers have always played in Arlington, Texas, but the team is listed as "Texas" in the standings because that is what the team calls itself: The Texas Rangers, not the Arlington Texans

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NAPBBP (1871)

• This idea came full circle: in the early 1870s, there were the Mutual Green Stockings of New York • In 2005, there were the newly redubbed Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

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